eyes

Quite often on a Friday night, I do some late night shopping.

Well, not that late night. Sort of through the evening stuff.

It avoids the rush there often is on a Saturday through the day. And I sometimes get to meet some folk as well. Since they, too, are not that rushed.

I was out at the shop tonight. Briefly. Stuff I needed to get in a bit of a hurry. So I popped in for one or two items before heading out for a visit.

There's a lady at the checkout who is often there at night. Enid's her name, I think.

Not because I've asked or anything as forward on my part as that. But that's what her badge declares and I have to assume that it's right.

She knows me to look at now. And I usually take time for a chat.

So she was on again tonight and when it was my turn to have her check my bag of fast-track stuff all through, she turned to me and said - "You've got that mischievous look in your eyes again!"

Which was news to me. I thought my eyes were simply tired. Bloodshot perhaps. And bleary maybe.

But hardly more than that. Or so I thought.

"I can tell," she went on. "I can see it in a person's eyes."

Now, there's a queue that's formed behind, me you'll appreciate. And I'm starting to feel like some fortune-telling freak is just declaring to the world at large the secrets of my heart. I'm wanting to move the thing on.

So I simply smile.

"See," she said. "That's you doing it again."

She has a point, of course. The eyes say it all.

I've always thought that's why the two early followers of Jesus once said to the lame man at the gate of the temple - Look at us.

The eyes. That's what they wanted the guy to see.

And I don't think it's mischief he saw. And I hope it's not mischief that Enid saw either.

It's the life and love of Jesus.

It was that, I think, that loads of different people caught a glimpse of here today.

Jean was only 59 when she died. And she'd battled with cancer for 13 years.

So her life was really quite short. And also far from easy.

Today we shared in a service to celebrate her life.

There was a huge crowd of people present (which will probably get me in trouble, since it took so long to get them all out at the end that the next funeral service was going to be starting quite late).

And the Lord pitched up as well.

Hardly unexpected, since Jean had based her life on following him.

But still, when you're all gathered there and he turns up as well, it's pretty unmistakeable. And it changes the day to a day that you can't but enjoy.

It's like he sort of smiles upon us all. Enid might think it mischievous. But it's really just his love.

Like he wants to make it a special day for those who will miss her most.

And I think he did. Between the service itself and the lunch that we held in the halls back here, the whole thing was simply a treat.

I think when the Lord pitches up like that and you're not really used to his doing that, it takes you quite by surprise.

We're just kind of used to it. His being around like that. With the buzz that there is and the feeling of warmth and the sense of real hope that he brings.

You just want to get to be part of it all. Which is how it affected a load of folk I think.

Maybe that's what Enid, too, was searching for.

Not the mischief. But the 'Chief' himself.

Because he's a load of fun!